Release Date:  May 19, 2004
Rating:  PG (for some crude humor, a brief substance reference and some suggestive content)
Genre:  Adventure/Animation/Family
Run Time: 105 minutes
Director:  Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon
Actors:  Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, John Cleese, Julie Andrews, Jennifer Saunders and Rupert Everett

Really good films are oh-so-rare these days, so when one combines top-notch writing, excellent acting, a positive message and brilliant satire about pop culture, I can’t help but rave. I’ve also never been a fan of animation, but I am now.

Shrek (Mike Myers), the green ogre from the swamp, has married his bride, Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz). The two enjoy a romantic honeymoon and return home, where Donkey (Eddie Murphy) awaits. When an invitation to a wedding ball arrives from Fiona’s parents, the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Far Far Away, the honeymoon is over. The couple bickers then packs their bags, with motormouth Donkey in tow.

As they step onto the red carpet, the entire kingdom gasps. Apparently, Mom and Dad had no idea that their precious daughter had become a full-time ogre, nor that she had married one. Over dinner, Shrek shows terrible table manners and the king (John Cleese) criticizes him harshly. The queen (Julie Andrews) tries to keep things under control, but that night, her husband steals off to the Poison Apple Inn and hires renowned ogre-assassin, Puss-in-Boots (Antonio Banderas). Along with Fiona’s scheming fairy godmother (Jennifer Saunders), he wants Fiona to marry Prince Charming (Rupert Everett), who just happens to be the godmother’s perfect, though terribly vain, son. Feigning reconciliation, the king persuades the trustful Shrek to meet him in the woods for a hunt.

Puss is unable to do the job, however, in a moment of cat-like weakness. Shrek shows him mercy, sealing their friendship. Donkey is jealous, but helps Shrek break into the godmother’s castle to steal some “Happily Ever After” potion, which transforms Shrek into a handsome prince, Donkey into a beautiful stead and Fiona back to her beautiful self. But before Shrek can return to Fiona, the godmother tricks her into believing that Prince Charming is Shrek.

“Shrek 2” offers a strong message about making marriage work, despite differences and difficulties, the need for forgiveness and the dangers of manipulation. Witchcraft, long the bastion of fairy tales, is much more than potions and spells. If we focus on the mythical black hats and cauldrons, we miss its underlying reality, which is about manipulation and control of others – exactly what the godmother and the king want to do. So, while spoofing fairy tales like Pinocchio and the Three Pigs, “Shrek 2,” also shows witchcraft for what it is – sinful selfishness. It reveals the dark underbelly of magic and the occult by showing us the devastating consequences of influencing others for selfish reasons, whether we do that with potions or just with words.